So now that we know the
problem... what’s the solution? Address those 3 issues! I’ve found through years
of experience helping hundreds of people, that increasing your metabolism and getting rid
of that excess body fat can often times be quite easy! Yet you’ll hear of all these
experts telling you how hard it is and why you need to buy their new diet program,
supplement, or fitness contraption.
It’s not that hard, it doesn’t
have to be confusing, and you don’t need any of that crap! All you need is an
understanding of how your body works and the willingness to make some small changes.
Here’s my basic formula for jump
starting your metabolism:
Step 1 - Stop the storage of new fat
It doesn't make any sense to start an
exercise program if you just end up adding new fat later that day. This is a problem that
is very common among people who start an exercise in an attempt to lose weight.
See, the problem is this...
We don’t get fat due to a lack of
exercise – we get fat because we supply the body with more calories than it needs at
a given time. So the solution has nothing to do with exercise – it’s all about
your eating! And I’m not saying you have to eat low-fat, super clean and healthy diet
consisting of salad and tofu only. You can still eat the foods you like IF you can give
the body just the amount it needs.
The key is to give the body the energy it
needs, but just that amount and not a bunch extra because extra is extra is extra, it
doesn’t matter what it’s from. Salad can be stored as fat, celery can be stored
as fat – if it results in extra it can be stored as fat. I should also note that not
all extra energy is stored in the fat cells and I will touch on that later.
So forget about trying to burn off any fat
unless you can first stop storing new fat! Again, you do that by matching your eating
to your activity level. This means small, balanced meals or snacks every 2-3 hours and
the amount of calories in each feeding should depend on how active you are at that time of
day.
Step 2 – Attack the existing fat
This requires a combination approach
consisting of stable blood sugar/energy levels, and progressive cardiovascular/aerobic
exercise and strength training.
We already talked about how important
stable blood sugar and energy levels are and how to match your eating to your activity
level so now I’d like to cover the exercise part of the equation.
In order for the exercise to even be worth
your time you must be sure it’s progressive. Just because you run on the treadmill
for 30 minutes three times a week, that doesn’t mean your body has to burn off that
unwanted body fat! You have to force the body to make changes and improvements and the
ONLY way to do that is to consistently provide a stimulus or stress that is greater than
what the body is used to.
Here are some general guidelines on how you
can make your exercise progressive and productive:
Strength training
- Change exercises frequently (every 2-4 weeks)
- Increase resistance
- Perform more reps
- Slower reps
- Advanced techniques
Cardiovascular training
- Increase speed/resistance
- Perform intervals
- Increase distance traveled
- Cross train by performing numerous activities
For more specific techniques please check
out the all the great articles on metabolism and fitness in the free resources section of
my website here:
www.achieve-fitness.com/free_resources.htm
I should also say that it is extremely
important that you have a well thought out and detailed plan to follow. You can’t
just say "ok, now I know what to do" and then try a little of this here and
little of that there. You need a roadmap. If you are serious about achieving your weight
loss and fitness goals I highly recommend you get the help of a professional. Whether that
means one on one, personal fitness training or just a do-it-yourself fitness plan –
your chances of success are much greater.
In closing, please remember, it
doesn’t have to be confusing. Hopefully this information has shown you how easy it
can be if you know what you are doing. If you have any questions or would like to learn
more about how you can guarantee your fitness success, please visit my website www.achieve-fitness.com or you
can give me a call at 240-731-3724. While you're at my website be sure to sign up for my
free email newsletter, Fitness Success News – it’s full of great
articles, tips, healthy recipes, contests, and more!
Jesse Cannone is a certified personal fitness
trainer, post-rehab specialist, nutritionist, and a national fitness presenter. He is also
the author of Burn Fat FAST and A Bride’s Guide To Fast Fitness + Weight Loss in
addition to many other popular fitness articles. He is known for his hard-hitting and to
the point style and offers a great free email newsletter called Fitness Success News,
which you can subscribe to at his website www.achieve-fitness.com |
